Nice2meet: Nick van Breda and Fionna Faulk, co-founders of Startup Impact Series

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Could you please introduce yourself?

Nick van Breda:  Nick van Breda (28), ex game addict turned into a Serial entrepreneur, involved in various startup projects (Stamboom.strikingly.com & Edu Audio Toy), NGO’s (Setup RUUW 2015-2017, Misfits Uden (2017-2019) Part of Startup Grind, TEC Europe 2017-2018), Communities (Permanent Future Lab 2015-today, Young Creators 2013-now). Helping companies, government, schools and people create more purpose and more innovation inside their core since 2014. Putting my game skills to work in the real world. 

Fionna Faulk:  I’m Fionna Faulk and I’m obsessed with new technology, innovation, process improvement, and efficiency.  All these areas, I approach from the perspective of sales and marketing.  

What is your background? What do you do? 

Nick van Breda:  I studied hospitality entrepreneurship and innovation management from 2008-2016. Since January 2013 I quit gaming (bit.ly/TedxNick & bit.ly/TEDxNick2 how I did so and what I learned out of it). 

Nick van Breda:  Since then I’ve been busy organizing events that boost people’s entrepreneurship and 21st century skills. With over 80 hackathons organized and participated I really love setting up new projects and helping others do so as well and via this way come up with new services and products that can help society further. Bridging the gap between skills/studies/generations/sectors to weave combinations of ideas for successful innovations. Often organized with partners like Studiowhy.com, on Festival formats like nl.campus-party.org and Futurefluxfestival.nl or Youngimpact.nl

Fionna Faulk:  I’m from the USA with a background in business-to-business sales and marketing.  While working for Toshiba America Business Solutions (a Fortune 500 company in the USA), I was a primary architect in the creation of the national sales training & development program — one of the company’s most successful internal programs, to date.  

Fionna Faulk:  Currently, I lead the creation of the new Marketing Services department at BusinessForensics, in Holland, and am founder of Recruitsos, a virtual event platform. 

Tell me more about Startup Impact Series? What is the goal of the podcast? How does it feel to be part of it?

Nick van Breda:  For me, Startup Impact Series is our next step into training and guiding people in setting up a social business. Giving them a new narrative on how to pursue dreams and stay right to your norms and values. The series will help listeners in pursuing a purpose and boost the effort to solve the SDGs with guiding makers to changemakers. 

Fionna Faulk:  From my perspective, Startup Impact Series is our chance to highlight and give exposure to companies that are in the business of doing good.  For so many who follow startup news, and the “startup scene” the headlines are often about companies selling commercially viable goods, or about those who just raised another 10 million bucks.  We believe the companies aspiring to make change, and do social good, don’t quite get the “love” or exposure they should, so this is an opportunity for us to have an avenue to highlight those companies.   

How did you get involved with the startup scene?

Nick van Breda:  Since I joined Young Creators back in 2013 I have been listening to hundreds of startups, coaching many with writing articles, organizing stages for them and creating them via hackathons. Now I am inviting many of the adult startups and scale ups that have lessons learned that they want to share to our Startup Impact Series. 

Fionna Faulk:  While I am always thankful for the opportunity and stability a more formal, corporate environment brings, there’s nothin’ quite like the energy of an entrepreneurial environment, so I always seek out at least one entrepreneurial group to join (shout out to the Gorilla Group in Cleveland, Ohio) as I’ve had “side hustles” before the term existed, and mini-entrepreneurial endeavors since I was a kid.  Needless to say, upon moving to Holland, I sought the same. 

How do you help entrepreneurs succeed?

Nick van Breda:  By offering them a stage, in all forms. Bringing them to a relevant network to further develop themselves.

Fionna Faulk:  I try my best to be there for those who get in touch with me for advice, especially when it comes to sales, marketing, business model strategy, pricing, contracts, etc. It simply feels nice to help, from the perspective of experience. 

Which startup story has inspired you the most? Why?

Nick van Breda:  All of them, the next one with Dave Jongeneelen I think is super interesting because of his scale of impact (giving 220.000 women the Power to feed their families in India and Gambia).

Fionna Faulk:  Not to come across as pandering, 🙂 but my favorite startup story so far is truly the one we did with Seats2Meet CEO, Marielle Sijgers.  It’s a true success story, and one that simply gives people a chance along the way. That’s all people need sometimes, is just a chance. 

How, in your opinion, is the startup scene going to change in times of current crisis?

All startups need to have a purpose now. Direct money making at the cost of someone else is now being punished by blocking bank accounts and closing down websites. So I see a big surge of social entrepreneurs come out of this crisis for sure and it already started. Many realizing that the fundamentals for all generations should be in place as fast as possible. Putting tools and skills to work for good. 

How do you believe the entrepreneurial community can support each other in times of the crisis?

Feeding each other with anything that they have in abundance.

What are your future plans for the Startup Impact Series?

Trying to keep up with a weekly series and reaching out to 100.000 listeners out of 175 countries. Hopefully reaching to a 1000 subscribers in this year. 

What would be one piece of advice you would like to share with the Seats2meet entrepreneurial network?

If you have a dream to pursue, connect with me. Because ambitious people need to surround themselves with coaches. And with our newest course program on theside-project.com we can help them further.